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Will you help me sort out my food identity crisis?
Hi girls...I'm visiting from Parenting, but figured you all would have some insight for me. Or maybe you've discussed this before.
To start-I've been vegetarian for 20 years (with varying time periods of being vegan)
My intentions are based mostly on a disgust of the factory farming industry and environmental consequences, world hunger, etc.
So, recently I'm doing some research on locavoreism (is that a word?) and come across some scathing info about big agriculture and I start thinking-is the diet I'm maintaining really better for the environment?
turns out-I find this whole underground movement of vegans turned omnivores. I stumble on this post and cried through the whole thing (I'm pg so give me a break on that one!)
http://voraciouseats.com/2010/11/19/a-vegan-no-more/
so many of the health issues she described resonated so hard with me and some of the things I battle against. I never would have pinned my diet since I thought I was so healthy. My dr. has never asked about what I eat-just which supplements I should take.
Now, I wouldn't go and just start eating factory farmed junk...we have plenty of local farms that I can buy from so that's a good thing.
But, how does one go from being vegetarian for 20 years to not? Is it the answer? Is eating a locally sourced omnivore diet a far more cruelty free/environmentally sound and healthier way to eat?
and, for every case against it I find a rebuttal for it. Stupid Google.
Does everyone put this much thought into their food, or is this my curse? 
Thanks for your thoughts!
Re: Will you help me sort out my food identity crisis?
The choice that I have made it to eat local food. We eat meat, but it comes with a high price tag and I get to meet the animals if I choose and know exactly who butchers them and how. We limit our amount of meat and substitute a lot of homegrown and farmer's market food. Also, I know the philosophies and practices of the two main farms we buy from. They both make sure nothing goes to waste and are constantly working to better their sustainable, organic practices.
All in all, our groceries are 150-250 dollars a month for two of us, which includes meat purchases. It will be decreasing this year as our garden has grown tremendously! I feel that the most humane way to exist is everything in moderation. A lot of our meals are vegetarian, or contain very small amounts of week. We cook 1-2 chickens per month and mix the meat in with multiple dishes throughout each month to stretch it.
Good luck!
I've been struggling with the same thing. I'm vegetarian, almost vegan and that blog post was interesting. So many of her symptoms are what I have with hypothyroidism, adrenal fatigue and vitamin D deficiency. I haven't been tested for other deficiencies. I think stress is the underlying factor based on how things have been going but maybe nutrition is at play too. They say when you're under stress, your body needs more vitamins and minerals so if I'm deficient because of food, then it makes sense.
I talked to a nutritionist and acupuncturist within the last few months who said animal protein is important for someone with hypothyroidism and went to a seminar type thing on how the thyroid works. I don't completely trust the person giving the seminar but she did put some thought provoking info out there about how vitamins and minerals affect the thyroid. It definitely warrants more research on my part but I haven't had a ton of time to spend on it.
I don't really know where I'm going with this other than to say I'm not sure how you stop being a vegetarian after so long. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around actually taking a bite of meat. I stopped eating meat because it would literally make me vomit - I don't know if it was the idea of biting into the muscle of a formerly living animal (yes, that's really what comes to mind when I think about eating meat) or my body's physiological reaction to the meat. Even today, the smell of meat cooking makes me nauseous. The only animal products I can stomach are a tiny amount of cheese and milk and eggs if they're called for in a recipe. For me, it has never been about whether it's wrong to eat animals....it's just gross. With that being said, I don't think animals should suffer for our benefit. I buy only cruelty free products and we get locally, humanely raised meat for DH and my dog.
When it comes to your health, I think you have to stop looking at all the pros and cons online. Look inside yourself and see if you can thoughtfully resolve your beliefs and needs. If I were you, I would probably be okay with eating meat from sources that you can verify. I don't know if it hurts or helps world hunger or the environment but at least the animals are being raised/slaughtered humanely and you are making an effort to see if it helps you.
I don't know who I am to give you advice, though. I bought half a dozen eggs a week ago thinking it would be a good way to try a little bit of animal protein. I was going to make an omelet type thing for myself but I haven't been able to work up the....I don't know what....to do it. I know I already said it but biting into that first piece is really hard to wrap my mind around. I think it would be even harder if it was beef, chicken or something more meat-like. My biggest fear at this point is that I won't be able to swallow it or that I'll throw up.
The last thing I want to add to my way too long rambling post is that I feel really bad for people who are criticized for their eating preferences. The superiority complex that some vegans and meat eaters can have is really disgusting. I get a lot of comments from my family and the IL's about being vegetarian and I can only imagine the comments if I start eating meat.
Tired after a long morning of hiking and swimming.
while i didn't get all the way through her post, this part confused me: "Now, instead of relying on grains and beans grown overseas with pesticides and seriously unsustainable farming methods to form the bulk of my diet, I can now turn my focus towards local animal products, such as goat, lamb, or chicken."
she starts out talking about how ridiculously healthy she is but clearly not, assuming the above is true. i'm not saying that's the only reason for her health issues but it makes me question how healthy or balanced her vegan diet really was.
i can't answer your question for you but if you do choose to incorporate some animal products into your diet, i'd opt for local/ organic and limit dairy.
Interesting.
I'm not sure how I feel about this article. I'm a vegetarian, have been for 16 years. I was vegan for five. I have always been very healthy- even in my vegan years, my mother would haul me into the doctor every so often to get bloodwork, sure I was missing out on vital nutrients. My doctor always arched an eyebrow skeptically at me as he read out the results, which were always great. Even when I was pregnant- the doctors kept suggesting I must be anemic, for no reason other than that I was a pregnant vegetarian. Blood test results were great.
To be honest, I've never worried too much about my diet, when it comes to protein/iron/b vitamins, etc. It's always just worked out. And I do believe that I'm not meant to eat meat- I hear stories from people who were veg and went back, and it blows my mind. As someone above has already said, I do not believe I could do it. The couple times I have accidentally eaten meat- stew with beef broth, or a meat ravioli snuck in with the cheese raviolis, or a piece of chicken that found it's way into my veggie stirfry in a restaurant- I have quite literally retched on my food. The smell of meat does not even register as "food" to me anymore- I can't tell you how many times I've pissed off my mom by walking into her house and asking "Ew, what smells in here?" only to have her inform me it's her roasted chicken or steaks and have everyone else in the house stare at me like I'm insane because apparently the smell is delicious. But I don't do this to be rude- it honestly does not smell like food, or even meat. It smells off. Every time. God, you should have seen me when I was pregnant. I couldn't even be in the same room as meat for the first 20 weeks or so or I'd start heaving.
However... I do sort of believe that everyone is different. I didn't before- I definitely would have been one of those "You're not doing it right" people. When my son was born I raised him vegetarian. I researched options for him more than I ever did for myself because I wanted to be 100% sure I was providing him with every nutrient he needed, even though I had never worried about it for myself. It worked for a while. Then, about six months ago, after never haven eaten meat, he started staring at chicken. He said it smelled good, and said he liked it before even trying it- something he's never done (it's normally a tug-of-war getting him to try new food). I have always said I'd let him make his own decisions so I let him have some once he asked. Seeing him devour it convinced me that he really needed it- something in his body was craving it in a way it didn't crave plant-based nutrients.
All that being said, I think people eat too much meat. My husband- an omnivore- has drastically cut down his meat consumption since being with me and although he swears he'll never give it up completely, he does feel better since eating less and his cholesterol and blood pressure is way down (he has a family history of heart disease and by age 20 he had really high blood pressure. Now it's very comfortably within the "ideal" range). There is a middle ground between not eating it at all and having it three times a day, like many people seem to do. My mother still insists that a meal is not a meal without a serving of meat (and her servings are twice what the food guide outlines), and my father's blood pressure is through the roof. That's not healthy either.
I could have written this, especially when it comes to chicken. I've had to leave the grocery store before when they're roasting chicken because the smell makes me gag.
Tired after a long morning of hiking and swimming.
This, exactly. Everyone is different - from the way their bodies work to the way their minds work. Especially when you're online, you're going to find people who believe veganism is the healthiest way of life, people who feel that vegans are crazy eco-liberal-hippie fools, doctors who claim vegetarians need supplements to be healthy, doctors that feel supplements are a hoax and don't do anything...... etc. It will drive you nuts.
In answer to your question, yes, a lot of us on here put that much thought/struggle into what we eat and where it comes from. I've been vegetarian for 8 years, and eat vegan 3-4 days/week. For me, it's moral - I don't feel like dead animals are food. I don't like the way animals are treated in the food industry. But that side of me struggles with the "green" side of me, knowing locally sourced and organic is best for the environment.
Bottom line, lol.... to each their own. Do the best you can with what you believe in. Great post, BTW.
Also, sorry..... did this blogger make anyone else want to barf? Between the "secret emails from animal rights activists and vegan cookbook writers saying they were closet meat-eaters," and then this drama queen moment -
"My first bite of meat after more than 3 years of veganism was both the hardest and easiest thing I?ve ever done. Tears ran down my face as saliva pooled in my mouth. The world receded to a blank nothingness and I just ate, and ate, and ate. I cried in grief and anger, while moaning with pleasure and joy."
Seriously?
Lurker here - I normally post on EFF or on the CD boards. To the OP - I went through the same sort of crisis as you seem to be going through. I was veg and vegan for a while and I was a very healthy veg and vegan. No processed foods, lots of fruits and veggies, etc. While I at first felt great, my health then started to decline.
I was so incredibly tired all the time. And I was down a lot of the time. I also started gaining weight - probably b/c I wasn't getting enough protein and fat. I felt bloated, etc, etc.
The real turning point for me was when I was trying to get pregnant with my 2nd child and my cycles were completely out of whack. I never had that issue before when I ate meat. I was going to acupuncture weekly and decided to start eating meat, cut out soy and grains and see what happens. I immediately felt like I came out of a fog and felt so much better. I don't eat factory farmed meat - I eat local pastured meat and eggs. I'm even lucky to have access to meat from Polyface Farms - the farm featured in Food Inc.
There are things that I don't eat now - soy, grains, and dairy. I have never felt as good as I do now.
I also suggest you look at the blog - Let them eat meat. You can search under ex-vegan interviews since some of his other stuff is a little out there.
I also still have a lot of vegan friends and I don't talk to them about their choices of food. It's hard because I don't want to get in a debate but I feel they will have to figure it out on their own.
Thanks for sharing this, this is EXACTLY what DH and I went through. DH went vegetarian 2 times before we met, and both times at around the one year mark he realized he hadn't felt well in months. He was tired all the time, gained weight, etc... After watching Food Inc and reading The Omnivore's Dilemma we went veg together for a year. The same thing happened, our health declined. So we decided that for the two of us vegetarianism does not work. So we eat local, organic meat and produce. We've never felt better.
So yes, you're not alone. A lot of people including me have crisis (crises?) about our food, and we take food very seriously. I couldn't tell you the last time I ate at McDonald's
Like the other vegetarians and vegans said, that's just not food to me. Yes, eating meat takes a toll on the environment. But I don't think that's necessarily true for local sustainable meat. Take the farmer that raises our beef, Chris for example. His land has been in his family for 3 generations. He has a normal full time job to supplement his farm income, most small farmers do. So he raises cattle to keep his land in the family, and to keep it from the grubby hands of developers. His soil isn't rich enough to raise vegetables, there's just not enough viable topsoil. We're in VA so it's rocks and clay. The cattle live their whole lives on his farm, and they're happy, I've seen them. I know these animals have had good lives and that this is a good environmentally-sensitive use of land in my county. We can choose to vote with our food dollars, and I vote LOCAL.
I don't have any advice to give, but i understand how complicated it is. I stopped eating red meat >15 years ago and all meat about 7 years ago. At that point, my "rules" allowed for humane, responsible meat, though i didn't eat any, at all. Since then i have tried a few times to eat some and i couldn't even bring myself to do it. I have some of the same symptoms mentioned above, but i don't want to eat it. So that's where i'm at... i'm sure that doesn't help you, but i guess it lets you know that you're not alone.
Best sound ever: baby's heartbeat! (Heard @ 10w1d)
My thoughts exactly!
It is very hard to make good decisions and follow through with them in good conscience when it comes to food in America. I thought I was fine eating little meat and lots of fruits and veggies and soy until I saw "Food, Inc." I feel like you almost need to go to school to sort out which meat was humanely treated (because "cage-free" does not always mean cage-free), which soy beans were not from China, etc...
Anyway, I think I digressed, but yes, I personally do put a lot of thought into food. And I personally eat meat because my body also misses it if I go too long without it.
I was a vegetarian for a long time and then I became a hunter. I obsess over where my food comes from all the time. DH and I spend a lot of time on hobbys that are about getting our own food. We fish, hunt, gather wild fruits, vegetables, grains. We don't eat any commercial meat. This isn't for everyone but it is what we feel best about doing. It is nice to know exactly where our food came from and how it was handled from field to table. We do everything ourselves which is a lot of effort but we really enjoy it.
About introducing meat in your diet, if that is what you want to do then start gradually. DH and I only eat meat 1-3 times a week, go vegetarian the rest. We have a friend that was vegetarian for as long as she could remember but had to eat meat when she started work in the Artic (she wouldn't have had much to eat otherwise). She got sick at first because she went too fast, start slow.
I definitely recommend going local organic if you plan to start eating meat. Also if you can get wild meats somehow, they are double the protein and iron with half the fat and calories of commercial meats. I have seen wild meats for sale at some farmers markets before. I do find that they taste more gamy than what we hunt for because the way it is handled makes a big difference. We have had people that say they hate the taste of venison say they loved ours, it is all in the way you handle it. If you find someone that sells game meat and it isn't very good, try someone else.